Sunday, October 28, 2012

Big news: I'm living in San Diego now! The move has been in the works for a few weeks now but it finally happened about 10 days ago. From here on out San Diego will be my home base and I'll be checking out the gluten free options around here and SoCal generally. I'm really excited to be here and, as always, keep the tips coming!

After my brunch with friends at Newsroom my friend Tina suggested we make a visit to fōnuts to check out the bakery's delectable treats. Never one to say no to a gluten free dessert, I obliged with the caveat that we had to ride with the top down on her new convertible. What could be better than headed to a dessert shop with the top down driving through L.A.? It was one of those fall days in L.A. when it had just rained, the sky was clear, and the views of the Hollywood Hills were spectacular.fōnuts was a short trip over from Newsroom and on the way we caught up. I hadn't been in L.A. since January so it was nice to be back and drive through my old 'hood of West Hollywood. Anyway, we quickly arrived to fōnuts and were greeted by a very friendly staffer. It turns out that she was an owner of the shop and told us that they have had gluten free options since the store's doors opened. I picked up two donuts: a pumpkin flavored one with icing and the banana chocolate. The latter was chosen after being suggested by the owner as terrific and one of the original gluten free options. I immediately took a bite out of the pumpkin spice flavor and loved it. It had great flavor, wasn't over baked to the point of being too crispy.

I waited until I arrived home to bite into the chocolate banana donut... and the wait was well worth it. This donut was mind-bendingly awesome; there was actual bananas in it rather than just banana flavoring and the chocolate flavor complemented the banana flavor well. I definitely have a new spot to visit whenever I'm in LA and can't wait to try more of fōnuts' treats.Do you love it or do you love it?
- - -fōnuts
8104 W. 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048 (Map)
(323) 592-3075

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

I was in Los Angeles last weekend and had the opportunity to brunch with my friends. It was really great to see everybody, especially without having to take a cross country flight as I did the short, two hour drive from San Diego.

We chose to go to Newsroom because it has a fairly central location to all of us and some of the brunch's members had to go to appointments nearby or at least on the way passing by Newsroom. I was excited to see that the restaurant now offers gluten free pancakes and waffles. I waffled a bit on which to choose (pun intended, apologies) but ultimately went with the pancakes.

Instead of being a stack of pancakes the gluten free pancake is served up on a large plate which it practically envelops. Just as importantly, of course, is whether the pancake was any good. I have great news: it was awesome. All of my friends dug in for a bite and really enjoyed it. It isn't overly thick like some other gluten free pancakes nor too mealy; it tastes just like what I remember gluten filled pancakes tasting like.

The service was great at Newsroom, there was ample street parking (and lot parking with $5 validation) and shops nearby if you want to walk off some of your breakfast; it's an especially great location because West Hollywood is one of the most pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods in Los Angeles. I'll definitely visit Newsroom again when I'm in Los Angeles and in need of a good breakfast spot.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

My friend Lauren was recently visiting New York from San Diego and requested me as her tour guide. I happily obliged and took her to the High Line, walked by Bar & Books (a bookstore which we had passed by on our trip to Prague together last year), did some shopping in SoHo, and hit up Rice to Riches. After our day touring New York Lauren left Manhattan for Brooklyn; on our last shared day in the city I met her for breakfast at Sun In Bloom right near the new Barclays Center.

Going from Union Square to the Atlantic Av. stop was incredibly easy on the subway and took barely 15 minutes. I hadn't seen the new Center yet so it was great to see the swooping architecture and unique coloring of the building. Lauren pointed out that the center looked as if it was old and rusty. I'll definitely have to read some architectural reviews of the Center, but I enjoyed the spaceship-like entrance with its built in screens and ease of passage into the Center.

Anyway, Lauren found Sun In Bloom on Yelp and recommended it as a place that has gluten free options. It's a small restaurant with an extensive menu filled with gluten free, vegan, and raw options. I opted for the Gluten Free Pancake stack with Caramelized Bananas and a side of Maple Syrup. The pancakes were plentiful but their taste was just fine; not great and not horrible. They were pretty dry, even after I doused them in maple syrup.

Lauren enjoyed her meal, the location was great, and the restaurant itself is simply decorated with big open windows looking out onto the street. Overall, I wouldn't order the pancakes at Sun In Bloom again but I would give the restaurant another try.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

My sister recently spent a few days in New York and while she was there we decided to check out a new place for the blog. I know I've been derelict in posting recently but there will be a slew of new posts and some big updates coming soon.

Anyway, we went over to Oat Meals for breakfast after learning about it on ScoutMob. For those of you not in the know, ScoutMob is an awesome app similar to a GroupOn or LivingSocial. However, unlike GroupOn or LivingSocial, you don't have to pay in advance to receive the deal; instead you walk in, show the waiter/cashier/etc. that you've redeemed the deal with a simple click of an icon on your phone, and there you have it - the deal is yours to enjoy! It's very simple and has a lot of great deals in New York City, I highly recommend that you download it if you live in New York and enjoy similar deal sites.

Again, I digress. We used the ScoutMob at Oat Meals after reading that all of the oats are gluten free and locally sourced from upstate New York. It's right near Washington Square Park and is a tiny little shop, it would be a great place to go visit on a nice day when you can order your oatmeal and sit in the square to enjoy it. My sister and I, however, visited on a rainy day when the shop was very popular. Oat Meals isn't a full restaurant and has limited seating, so if you are going with a big group it it probably not the best option.

I ordered the caramel apple flavor with some pumpkin purée drizzle and the order was up in about five minutes. My sister ordered something with blueberry and other additions but I didn't sample any of hers.

We both enjoyed OatMeals but weren't sure we would go back; oatmeal is simple enough to prepare at home so it didn't feel necessary to go out for it. I like the concept of the restaurant but the execution didn't quite go through for me as the oatmeal didn't lack that little bit of special flavor that makes it a unique product difficult to recreate at home. It was no one thing but a combination of things: the size of the space; the lack of strong flavor in the oatmeal; and the ease of preparing it at home on my own that would make me hesitate before going back to Oat Meals.
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Oat Meals (no link available)
120 W. 3rd Street
New York, NY 10012 (Map)
(646) 360-3570